Chapter 24: The War Begins
"France?" breathed Elsa.
"Yeah," Jack nodded.
"So you guys are going to use my plan?" these words spiked Anton's and Ragnar's interest. They both looked up expectantly.
"Well," Jack paused for a moment. Elsa's heart sank. She hoped that the Werewolves hadn't completely disregarded what she said because she was a Vampire. "Not really," Jack said after a few moments. "They weren't too keen on listening to a Vampire but North and I backed you up and they have decided that The Guardians escort the Vampires through the Capital."
"Well," Elsa smiled. "I suppose it could have been a lot worse."
Jack laughed. "It could have indeed."
A month later, Elsa and the others touched back down on French soil. There were only a few days till full moon and Elsa wanted to use that full moon. It would be the perfect cover for her to implement her revenge plan. Pitch had terrorised the land for too long. He thought he was calling the shots, not anymore. This time Elsa was calling the shots.
"So what's the plan?" Elsa asked Jack.
They were travelling along the road, driving from Paris during the night time. Elsa, The Guardians, Manny, Cade, Braden, Anton and Ragnar were all piled into a container that was attached to a truck. The driver was a couple of Werewolves that were very loyal to Manny. The reason that they were in a container was arranged for the Vampires of the group as they couldn't be in the sunlight. They couldn't afford to travel only during the day. The clock was ticking and they needed to be at the Capital before the full moon appeared in the sky.
"We need to sneak into the Capital," Jack said.
Elsa had been kept in the dark during her time with the Werewolves – both literally and figuratively about everything. After Jack had told Elsa what had been said during the meeting, there hadn't been much else. Elsa, Anton and Ragnar had been left in that cell all through the trip. They had been given blood at regular intervals and food to stop them complaining. Jack had tried to get them out but unfortunately North had to agree with what this Werewolf, Cade, had said. The safest place for them was down there. There were no places were sunlight could get in and so Elsa reluctantly agreed that maybe Cade did have a point. However, that cage made Elsa felt like she was more of a prisoner rather than a guest. Braden certainly felt like that. He was quite similar to Bunnymund in this thinking – that all Vampires must be evil and sent to hell. Although there were Vampires who thought similar things about Werewolves.
"Sneaking in is easier said than done," Elsa said.
"Well, we're gonna try," Jack said.
"Good luck," muttered Elsa.
There was a bump in the road and Elsa's head whacked against the truck. Normally that would have hurt any human being but it was just annoying to be bumped around. The journey wasn't going to be easy. They seemed to be on a very bumpy ride as they kept getting thrown around.
"Can't you tell whoever is driving to take it easy?" Elsa said as she got herself off the floor of the container she was in.
"Brian drives like a manic," Jack said.
"Great," Elsa said. "He's going to kill us all."
"We can't be," Ragnar said.
"It was a joke Ragnar," Elsa tutted. She was feeling a little annoying.
Jack gave her a small kiss on her cheek. "Better?" he asked her.
Elsa smiled. "Maybe try it again."
"Oh get a room!" Anton said.
Everyone laughed at Anton's reaction.
"Just leave them alone Anton," Tooth laughed. She, along with the other Guardians, was sitting in the truck's container with Jack, Elsa, Anton and Ragnar. Anton scowled at Tooth's words. Elsa knew that Anton wasn't really one for PDA, he came from a time when that wasn't really seen.
Days rolled by as they journeyed through the Paris countryside. Elsa had to invent games to keep herself from dying from boredom. They went through every game that they could; eye-spy, charades, Anton had a pack of cards on him and so they played every card game they could think of but there were so many games of Scum that they could play before they got bored.
"How much longer?" Elsa winded. Her head was sitting on Jack's shoulder. They were leaning against the wall of the truck's container. Jack had his knees up to his chin and had his arms wrapped his legs. Elsa had her legs outstretched and her arms were hanging by her side. She had a bored expression all over her face. Elsa had lost all sense of time. Day and night had rolled into one for her.
Jack checked his watch. "Shouldn't be too long now. By driving all day and night has shortened this trip considerably."
"Still," Elsa said, "this has been the most boring and worst road trip I have ever been on."
"When have you been on a road trip?" Jack asked, chuckling.
"You know, whenever my parents would take me to another one of their houses."
"That's not really what the definition of a road trip is. A road trip is partying and drinking with your friends."
"Same thing," Elsa said but she knew that Jack was right.
They drove for a few more hours until the truck came to a stop. Jack got out of the truck with the rest of The Guardians, carefully, in order not to shine any sunlight onto the Vampires in the room. Thankfully, the truck had been carefully built in order to stop that from happening. Anton had loaned it from a friend in Paris by saying he needed it to get to the Capital which exactly wasn't a lie, just the whole truth wasn't exactly being told. Jack came back around and told them that they were setting up the base.
"Finally," Elsa muttered.
"Unfortunately," Jack said, "it's still light outside. You guys are going to have to wait here until its night time."
"Got it," the three Vampires said.
"It's full moon tonight," Jack said. "We all know what that means. For your safety, we are going to go as soon as possible. The forecast is for cloudy but the forecast said that will clear later. We have a small window of opportunity."
"Okay," the rest of them said.
Jack got back out of the truck after telling Elsa and the others what was going on. He went to re-join Manny, North and Cade. He found Braden there as well. Jack gave Braden a look which made him smirk. Braden was seriously annoying him. Jack wanted nothing more than to give a good right hook to that guy but they needed Braden. He was a good fighter and had a some decent kills to his name. He was loyal to the Werewolves as well not to mention he was Cade's son, a very important Werewolf.
"Hey Jack," North said. "How are our friends doing?"
Jack noticed that when North said the word 'friends', Braden scowled slightly but Jack pretended that he never saw it.
"Fine," Jack said. "They're just anxious for the battle."
"We all are," Cade said. "This is going to be one for the history books."
"Tell me about it," Bunnymund said.
"How ready are we?" Jack asked.
North sighed. "It will take some time but I think we could be ready by the time the sun goes down. We aren't in any danger from the Vampires. Even Pitch Black wouldn't send his Vampires on a suicide mission just to get to us. They would be incinerated the moment they step outside."
Jack turned around and watched as the other Werewolves unloaded cars and trucks. They were setting up tents and command posts where they could plan their attack very carefully. Jack knew that Pitch Black wouldn't be an easy target to take down. He knew his reputation and had been aware of it for ages. Elsa was right; he needed to be taken down otherwise he and Elsa could never be a couple. Elsa wouldn't be allowed back to her convent, she wouldn't be allowed to see her Vampire friends, she would be an outcast and everyone who associated with her would be one too. Elsa didn't deserve that. He was sure that once Pitch was gone, the other Vampires would see that they didn't need to fight, that everything could be resolved. The problem was that all Vampires and Werewolves have known is hate and war. Could they come around to something like peace and love? Jack hoped so, for Elsa's sake.
"So Jack," Cade's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "you know what you're doing?"
"Yes," Jack nodded. "I take Elsa, Anton, Ragnar and the other Guardians – apart from North, of course, as he is running point with Manny and you, inside the Capital."
"Good," Cade nodded. "Remember, you are in charge here. I want everything to go as smoothly as possible."
"Why is he in charge?" Bunnymund sounded quite disgruntled. Bunnymund had every right to be. He had been in the Guardians for a lot longer than Jack had. Bunnymund still saw Jack as the 'new guy' at times.
"Because he's the one who the Vampires trust him more than anyone else," Cade explained.
"Reasonable," Bunnymund shrugged.
Pitch Black woke up early and headed into his office. He had changed after getting up into his usual black suit. He had barely sat down at his desk when two Vampires came in. They were part of the guards that looked out to see what was going on beyond the Capital. Pitch was sure that the guards names were Cindy – a new addition in the Capital, she had only become a Vampire in the fifties – and Graham – a Vampire who had been in the Capital since the 1700's.
"What?" Pitch sounded irritable. He hated to be disturbed at any time of the day but during the early hours of the morning, he was especially irritable.
"We got some news boss," Cindy said.
"What kind of news?" Pitch's eyes narrowed.
"News that you will not like," Graham said.
"That does not make me smile Graham," Pitch said. "What's the news?"
"The dogmen have lined up outside," Cindy said. "I think they're ready to fight."
Fight? Pitch found the idea ludicrous. As if those silly dogmen could stand up against his army of the Undead.
Pitch leaned back in his chair and grinned evilly. "Let them come if they dare."
Elsa wondered how much longer it was till sundown. She had slept while Jack was gone but she had woken up about an hour ago. Anton and Ragnar had followed suit as it seemed because she found them both asleep when she had woken up. By now, they were both awake and impatiently waiting for Jack to come back.
"When's your boyfriend coming back?" Ragnar complained.
"I don't know," Elsa said. "It's not like I can read his mind."
The door then opened and Jack stepped into the truck. Elsa grinned when she saw him.
"So we don't have a lot of time," Jack said. "We got to move!"
Elsa had just stood up when they were interrupted.
"Jack!" the voice of Tooth suddenly cut through the air.
"What?" Jack turned around to face her.
"They know," Tooth said,
"What?"
"They know," Tooth said again. "Pitch has his army lining up. They're getting ready to battle."
Jack banged his fist against the edge of the wall. "How did he know?"
"Um, maybe one of his guards told him?" Tooth said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh yeah," Jack sheepishly grinned. "Tooth, round up the rest of The Guardians." He turned to Elsa. "You guys, we better go!"
Elsa, Anton and Ragnar jumped out of the truck while Tooth sprinted away. They were soon joined by the rest of The Guardians (excluding North who was going to stay with Manny to help plan the fight) by the edge of the truck. Elsa looked up and saw some cloud covering the moon. She wondered just how long that was going to last. She could already see some of the clouds shifting. It made her feel uneasy. She didn't want to deal with four fully transformed Werewolves. Jack had recognised her once before, who knows if it will happen again. Besides, Werewolves hunt Vampires in their transformed state and she was with two other Vampires. Even if she was spared, they wouldn't be.
"I told North to start the assault," Tooth said. "Since they already know that we're lining up, they will be on full alert, so sneaking in will be a problem. North should be able to lure them out and away from us."
"Good plan," Jack sounded quite impressed. "So, where should we go now Elsa?"
"You say that as if I would have a clue about where we should go," Elsa laughed. "Well I think we should go wherever we can get in."
"Well I knew that," Jack said. "I was just wondering if there was like a secret entrance we can take."
"A secret entrance that me, a lonely Vampire, would know about?" Elsa laughed again. "Yeah, that'll be the day."
"If there is a secret entrance, only Pitch would know about that," Anton said. "He wouldn't share that kind of information with anyone. He would be selfish enough to save his own skin."
"Sounds like the Pitch Black that we all know and love," Jack said very sarcastically.
"Let's get moving," Ragnar suddenly cut in. His eyes were peering up into the night sky and staring up at the clouds. Elsa knew what he was thinking of.
"I agree," Elsa said.
They moved quickly through the France countryside. The night air was cool and crisp and felt pleasantly cool. Elsa hoped that there wouldn't be much wind yet. Wind would just knock the clouds away from their position and reveal the full moon. They couldn't afford having their plan be implemented too soon. The ducked and dived through what the environment was throwing at them; rocks, grasses.
They heard a noise coming south of their position. They saw numerous Vampires thundering across the ground in the direction of the camp. There was no need to try and alert the other Werewolves that they were coming; they already knew it. Werewolves were thundering across the ground as well. The two sides met in the middle. Elsa and the others watched as the Vampires and the Werewolves were fighting it out.
"Come on," Jack whispered to Elsa. "This is our chance."
Elsa nodded. She grabbed Anton and pushed him forwards with the others bringing up the rear. The attack seemed to have worked. There didn't seem to be anyone standing in their way, waiting to pounce on them. Elsa had expected Pitch to have another army of Vampires waiting to attack and rip them apart. She knew it was dangerous to return to Pitch's Capital but she had no choice. She wanted revenge on the man who believed that just because she was a Vampire, he had the right to control her and every thought she had. She wanted to show him that wasn't the case. The Vampire race will be freed from his reign of terror. She had no idea who would take over from him though. Usually children would take over from their parents but Pitch's family had died long ago. So his heir was up for debate. Maybe it will be someone in his Inner Circle.
Elsa then got a dangerous thought. What if by getting rid of Pitch it would plunge the Vampire race into a civil war? Well if that was too happen, hopefully she and Jack would be far away by then. She just wanted to run away with him as she had never been able to before but now she finally had the chance and she wasn't going to mess it up this time around. Second chances don't come around very often and she wasn't going to let this opportunity fly out the window.
Elsa soon found herself at the wall of the Capital. They jumped over it in one big leap. They landed in the Capital and looked around. There was no one around. Again, Elsa couldn't help but be surprised at the lack of people. Surely they would have smelled that there were Werewolves around. Elsa still had to try and focus on other things when she's around The Guardians. Jack, she was used to by now. The familiar smells that came with Jack overpowered his Werewolf smell. The others, she was still getting used to.
"Where do you think everyone is?" Jack asked, voicing Elsa's thoughts.
"Probably fighting?" suggested Bunnymund.
"Maybe," Elsa said. "We should get moving."
North was watching the battle unfold. He was frowning at it. He wasn't quite sure how this battle was going to turn out. It could go either way in his opinion. The Vampires weren't putting up a huge fight and North knew why. These were only Newborn Vampires. They were supposed to keep them busy while he prepared for his real assault. If they didn't get a full moon soon, they could be in danger.
"What should we do?" Cade came up to North. He could see the same things that North was seeing.
"Well for the moment we are doing okay," North said. "It's pretty even out there, so I reckon we should be fine until the winds shift and we can transform."
"I just hope that we will survive until then," Cade's son Braden had come to them. He paused next to his father and stood in an upright and rigid way. He folded his arms as he spoke. "I just hope we can trust those nasty blood-drinkers."
"Braden!" Cade snapped. "Not every Vampire is evil and not every Vampire is good. The same goes for Werewolves."
Braden scoffed. "Yeah right. How many times have the Vampires got one over on us?"
"I'm sure Elsa feels the same way," North said.
"She does, does she?" Braden said.
"Look," North scowled at Braden, "Jack trusts Elsa. They knew each other long ago."
"Yeah I know the story, they met, fell in love, blah, blah, blah," Baden said. "How do we know that she won't turn on us the moment she can?"
"Jack trusts her," North repeated.
"But how do we know?" Braden said again.
Cade and North exchanged looks.
"We don't," Cade shrugged. "We just got to trust Jack knows what he is doing."
Pitch looked out his window at the fight that was taking place before him. So far his Newborn Vampires weren't letting him down. They were doing their job alright. Pitch smiled down at the battle. Soon the dogmen were all going to be eliminated. His quest to get rid of that meddling and self-righteous so-called brother of his; Manny. He needed to get rid of him before he went insane. Manny thought he was superior to him because he made something out of his life. Pitch wanted to show him that he was the superior one, that he was going to show Manny what he could do.
Pitch was about to think that the battle was won – his Newborns clearly had the advantage over those dogmen - before something unexpected had happened. He should have foreseen this coming but he didn't. He felt like an idiot now. Of course they would attack on a night like this. They would have been stupid not too.
The winds shifted and revealed a full moon.
A/N: Okay let me start by saying how sorry I am it took me to get this chapter out. If any of you have been reading The Past Is In The Past, you will know that I had some laptop issues over the past week. I had to take my laptop into the store like twice to get it sorted out then I had uni work and procrastination took over. However, I got a nice new shining laptop as an early birthday present which is super awesome. Anyway, I know it's been like forever but I plan that it won't take me this long again to get another chapter out. Sorry for any errors. I hope that everyone enjoyed this update. Please review =)
Reviews:
Guest (MixyBell): I am so sorry for the wait. I had issues with my laptop which prevented me from writing. New update for you to enjoy. Hmm, maybe Braden should just get randomly killed off, after all, there are casualties in every war.
Guest: Wow, glad that you got through The Frozen Creed! I hope that you have been enjoying that. May have to wait and see what Pitch does with Elsa. No problem about answering your question!
Guest: What a coincidence. That's awesome. Updating as requested!
WeridWerewolf: Sorry, misread or mistyped probably. New Zealand doesn't have a lot of crime which I am very thankful for, so yeah kind of glad I don't live in a crime full country. Haha, never heard of the Shaka Marine World in Durban. Maybe I will have to check it out one day.
Mickhe11: Yep, you're wrong, although I don't doubt that thought had crossed his mind.
Kat-IlluminatedPurity: Yeah, that is true although Pitch did go off and find a lover a couple of times before, maybe they made him give up on the idea of love? Start of their plans revealed in this chapter. I think everyone believes in one thing that should happen to Pitch; burn him alive. He probably would just escape the dungeons. Looking forward to next review!
Frostbite Productions: Okay!
Jelsalover3: Ah fun! Never been to Wisconsin myself. Bad luck on the sunburns, sunscreen next time? University has been driving me into the deep end, nothing out of the ordinary there. Although I am now on a break for the next two weeks and that is a relief. It's never too early to start thinking about that, just remember what you think now may be different to what you think in the future. I wish I was a straight A student, super jealous.